25 ways to love your insurance leads

By Daniel Steenerson

Disability Insurance Services

We’ve all heard the stats: 80 percent of sales are closed after the fifth contact. Yet, only a tiny percentage of insurance agents ever get to the fifth contact. Why is that? If we know the recipe for success, why don’t we follow it?

Part of the problem is that we only know part of the recipe. We know we need to follow up, but we don’t know how to follow up without annoying and pestering our prospects. It’s like telling someone to bake the cookie dough without communicating the temperature at which to set the oven.

Yesterday, you were in the dark. Today, no longer. Below is a list of 25 ways to love your insurance leads without annoying or pestering them.

1. Wish them a happy New Year.
2. Tweet an inspiring quote.
3. Clip out a magazine article and send with a note saying, "Thought you’d be interested in this."
4. Send a Valentine.
5. Take them to lunch.
6. Share a success story.
7. Commemorate the first day of spring by reminding them to keep up with their financial housekeeping.
8. Send a monthly e-newsletter.
9. Reach out with an e-card or a jib-jab.
10. Tweet a surprising statistic.
11. Celebrate Independence Day by encouraging a step toward greater financial independence.
12. Deliver a cupcake with a note saying, “You’ve got a sweet situation — protect it with paycheck protection.”
13. Invite them to a customer appreciation event like a dinner cruise or a wine tasting.
14. Forward a link to an article.
15. Recommend or endorse them on LinkedIn.
16. Like them on Facebook.
17. Resend the insurance quote.
18. Send them a free white paper with a note to make sure to check out key excerpts.
19. Ask their opinion or send a survey.
20. Send a note of appreciation for Thanksgiving.
21. Host an educational brown-bag lunch or webinar.
22. Share a coupon.
23. Introduce them to someone with common business or personal interests.
24. Send movie tickets with a note saying, “Treat you family to a movie this weekend. Also, don’t forget to call me next week about protecting your family’s lifestyle!”
25. Remember their birthdays!

There are no more excuses for follow-up failure, so don’t wait another second. Take the initiative. Pull out your hot prospects list and schedule out six follow ups for each person on your list. These simple steps will almost guarantee that you finish the year strong.